A black-and-white Shih Tzu named Snickers trotted away with top honors at the 36th annual Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade, dressed head to paw as Knicks guard Jalen Brunson in a tiny “Knicks in Five” jersey. The East Village tradition drew roughly 500 costumed dogs marching from East 13th Street and Avenue B into Tompkins Square Park, where a costume contest and festival capped off a day built around silliness, adoption and community pride.
Snickers's win came with a free year-long supply of Kismet dog merchandise and a ribbon signed by Chrissy Teigen and John Legend, according to the original seed article from amNewYork. The costume contest also earned him $1,000 worth of dog swag, as reported by Our Town. Knicks-themed costumes were a popular choice across the park this year, according to EV Grieve, reflecting the team's championship buzz spilling into even the city's most eccentric corners.
More than 30 dogs competed in the costume contest that followed the march, per the amNewYork account, with entries ranging from Marie Antoinette and a charcuterie board to Captain Kevin from The Barkrooms. Other pups came dressed as Bad Bunny, Mrs. Doubtfire and reimagined Renaissance artwork, the same report notes. For the first time, the costume competition was broadcast live, according to T2Conline, which also described a free festival running from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on East 6th Street between Avenues B and C.
Rescue Dogs Took Center Stage Alongside the Costumes
Behind the glittery outfits, the parade carried a deliberate adoption message. Organizers brought 250 dogs looking for new homes to the event, the Hyperallergic report states, with the nonprofit New York Dog Parade partnering with the ASPCA and Animal Care Centers of NYC to spotlight adoptable dogs throughout October, per amNewYork. Featured rescue dogs were available for adoption on site, and organizers invited the public to donate or volunteer through nydogparade.org.
One success story emerged quickly: three-month-old puppy Cloud, featured at the parade's kickoff, was adopted later the same day after returning to the ASPCA Adoption Center, according to a report from bdpets.com. Chrissy Teigen and John Legend, whose pet-food brand Kismet sponsored this year's parade, attended and personally escorted dogs named Hop and Cloud, per amNewYork. The brand was founded by the couple, the nonprofit's own media materials from New York Dog Parade confirm.
A Tradition That Nearly Didn't Survive
The parade traces its roots back to 1990, when local dog owners and community members began hosting informal Halloween gatherings for their pets, according to amNewYork. Over the decades the event outgrew the confines of Tompkins Square Park itself, and at one point organizer Fern Watt stepped in to save it from being shut down entirely, the same account states. Watt, a dog advocate and canine author, founded the nonprofit New York Dog Parade in 2024 to formalize and sustain the tradition.
Watt has said most attendees are adults living in small New York City apartments who pour real creativity into elaborate costumes for their dogs, framing the event as something deeper than a novelty parade. She has described the gathering as one that brings creativity, silliness and joy, and the nonprofit says its mission is to spotlight the relationship between dogs and humans. The parade has also been described, per T2Conline, as having evolved from Manhattan's first dog run into an event celebrated as the world's largest Halloween dog parade.
Longtime Marchers Treat It Like Performance Art
For some regulars, the parade has become an annual ritual of its own. Sam and Shirley attend every year with their dog Tofu, a small poodle mix whose owners build out elaborate historical costumes for him, according to amNewYork. Sam said the parade is a way to celebrate a dog and show off its personality.
Tofu's costume concept goes further than most: the dog has an online portfolio of historical painting recreations posted at thetofumuseum.org, including takes on Girl with a Pearl Earring and the Mona Lisa, per the same amNewYork report. Sam described Tofu as a work of art whose owners want to share him and place him in art history. Last year's parade crown went to a group called the Cereal Killers, presented under sponsor Stella and Chewy's, according to New York Dog Parade's own parade archive — a reminder that the East Village's costume creativity resets, and escalates, every October.
